I Was Wondering, Why Do You Like Me?
by TorontoBatFan
Summary: It's July of 1983.  Owen and Abby have been living peacefully and happily in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana for over three months.  On a quiet evening, they sit by the riverbank and ask each other some questions.
1. Chapter 1

_Here's my next entry in Owen and Abby's ongoing story. It's a continuation of "I Was Almost Too Late." Reading the first story isn't a prerequisite, but it does help. _

I Was Wondering...Why Do You Like Me?

July 1983

Owen looked at his watch and closed the workbook on the old desk. He had been working most of the afternoon at his correspondence courses, ever since he had awakened around 2pm. It was now well past 7pm. He stood up and stretched, his muscles stiff from the enforced inactivity. He found he now grew stiff after sitting a long time. His muscles had been growing and adapting amazingly well to the hard physical labour he now did on his grandfather's ranch. As well, he'd been making sure to exercise on his own whenever he could, remembering Mr. Zoric's lessons from Los Alamos.

Even after only three months, Owen looked much different from the pale, weak looking boy who had fled Los Alamos back in late March. A timely growth spurt combined with daily physical activity had added close to an inch of height as well as broadened his chest and shoulders while thickening his upper arms.

Unlike most people who worked the land though, much of Owen's work was done at night. His days were more or less evenly divided between sleeping and doing his correspondence courses for the schoolwork that he was not in class for. He didn't mind any of that at all. Truth be told, he enjoyed it. Of course, even if he didn't, there wasn't much of a choice…at least for the schoolwork part of it. Owen knew he could probably never attend any sort of regular school again. He really couldn't go anywhere that public where people could get a good look at him for a sustained amount of time. To put it bluntly, Owen was far too hot for that. He didn't truly miss it. He worked well on his own –he always had. He had good self-discipline and focus. He noted with bitter amusement how much easier it was for him to read something and absorb the lesson if he wasn't having spitballs lobbed at him, hearing whispered taunts or generally fearing for his life every second of the schoolday.

The other reason he was perhaps the only swing-shift ranch hand in North America was also the indirect reason he was both here and unable to attend a school or anyplace where his identity might be checked. His heart pounded a little as he looked at both his Timex watch and out the window, as if a check of the sun angle was needed to confirm his wristwatch was accurate. Yes, the sun was still quite high in the sky, as it was only the first week of July. The Summer Solstice was barely past and it was still next to impossible to discern that the days had begun to grow shorter again.

But, that was a matter of perspective. For most people, the days had begun to grow shorter. For Owen, his days –or at least the part of the day he cherished- had begun to grow longer. He felt his heart beat in anticipation as he sensed the coming of night. That was the time he lived for. That was the time he got to be with her. That was the time he could be with Abby.

Abby. He rolled the name over in his head and simply could not contain the smile that spread across his face. He recalled her giving him a last kiss as she slipped out of his bed early that morning as the darkness in the eastern sky had begun to pale. She slipped an oversize shirt over her small, nude frame and slipped out the window. He had looked out in time to see her open the door that led down some steps to an old, long disused root cellar. She looked up and saw him watching her from his bedroom window. She giggled and blew him a kiss before descending the steps and locking the door after her. The old root cellar had a deceptively heavy door with an obscenely strong lock that would seem more fitting for the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas or Marion, Illinois that an old ranch in the foothills of the Rockies in Montana. There were two keys to that lock. She had one. Owen had the other, and IT was kept in a small, but highly secure lockbox in his room. He was the only person who knew the combination. Outsiders might have laughed at the type of security the two had built for an old cellar where –prior to the last week of this past March- all that it was used for was keeping broken tools and disused Christmas decorations. However, outsiders couldn't have guessed just what was now peacefully sleeping in the darkness down there. More than likely, they were far happier not knowing. Yes, definitely happier…. Owen, however did know, but it was no lie to say that knowledge –or more importantly, the person attendant to that knowledge- had made him happier than anything in his entire lifespan of nearly thirteen years. (That landmark birthday was a little over a week away yet.)

Owen sighed. He had at least two more hours before he could feel safe in entering the root cellar. He could have entered without any risk at 12 noon, if he had wanted. But, he knew that Abby would feel a little worried if she knew that the door had been opened at that time –even though there about three doors between her and daylight- so, for her sake, he didn't descend until the gloaming. It was the absolute least he could do. Abby was…well…she was everything to Owen. She was his best friend. She was his girlfriend. She was the other half –he was now certain- of his soul. To put it more bluntly, she was the reason he was still alive –literally. He was as certain as he was of the coming darkness that he would be dead by now, if it wasn't for her. He would have drowned in the deep end of the swimming pool at his old middle-school in Los Alamos, New Mexico back in March. There was no question about it. He had been literally seconds away from drowning. He would have been dead. The four sociopathic bullies would have left him floating face down in the pool while they fled the scene. Mr. Zoric, his gym teacher who he did miss as he had tried to help Owen out, would have returned from investigating a dumpster fire (that his prospective murderers had set as a distraction) to find him floating face down in the water. They would have gotten away with it too, most likely. He had been a poor swimmer then –although he had since rectified that situation in the river and deep pond that ran through the property- and his death would have been listed as a tragic accident. Zoric would probably have been fired for negligence if not charged.

Instead, Zoric returned to the pool to find something from out of a horror movie –one of those films that had become insanely (and, in Owen's opinion, inexplicably) popular in the last five or six years or so- where the whole point of the film seemed to be to show what happened when madmen with hockey masks used power tools on living human beings. Owen still could not believe the carnage he'd witnessed once he'd pulled himself from the water and got a look around. The previous two weeks he'd had his eyes opened (alright, more like sprung open) through his burgeoning relationship with Abby. He'd learned the truth about her and her nature. He'd even seen her attack and drain an unfortunate Los Alamos detective who'd stumbled onto her daytime lair. (Owen still felt sorry for that man. He wished he could turn back the clock and stop him from trying to enter the bathroom of the dingy apartment. However, he'd accepted the simple truth that it was that man or Abby, and that was not a choice. At least not to Owen.)

But, this carnage was something beyond the imagination. By the remains of a shattered window had been a pair of corpses (Donny and Mark, Kenny's two henchmen who perhaps had been a little more reluctant to follow Kenny's atrocities. Of course, if they had been MORE reluctant and actually refused, they would still be alive and in summer school now) who had no heads. They had been smashed together so hard, their heads had simply been obliterated. Brain tissue, blood and skull pieces littered the deck. Jimmy –the ringleader who'd been holding him under water- was mostly slumped over where he'd been holding Owen beneath the surface. (Mostly, because while his body was still there, his head now lay on the bottom of the pool, twelve feet beneath the surface.) The head had been ripped off with fearsome violence. It had not been cut off, but had literally been pulled off the torso. The spinal cord was actually protruding from the body. Jimmy's head was pulled off with such force that the brain was literally pulled free of the spinal column. And finally, there was Kenny. Kenny, the sociopathic bully who had tormented Owen for months, was hard to recognize. He had simply been pulled apart. His head lay on one part of the deck –enough of his neck remained to let Owen know that Abby had fed off of Kenny before her coup-de-grace. ( Owen suspected it was the one positive contribution Kenny had made to any being in his entire short yet vicious life.) Kenny's lower body, which Owen could tell even above the odour of the chlorine had defecated himself before his death, lay a fair bit away from the head. The rest of his torso was simply scattered around the rest of the deck. His ribcage lay next to the backboard. His two arms had come to rest, individually, close to the reaching pole (morbidly ironic much, thought Owen). And his organs were literally scattered about the deck like an interrupted game of "Operation". The pool deck was red. The water was turning red. The walls were red. And Abby herself was dripping red with blood.

(Owen did wonder on occasion just what Mr. Zoric's reaction was to the scene he returned to. He did hope that Zoric was alright. He'd been about the only teacher, and sadly he was about the only person period -prior to Abby moving in next door- to take an interest in Owen's well being. Owen hoped that Zoric was not suffering either personally or professionally from what he found at that pool.)

Owen's jaw had dropped when he took in the sight of the deck that now looked like an abattoir. Abby, however, was like a vision from Heaven. A day and a half prior, he had watched her get into a taxi and drive away from his life. He had felt that he would never see her again. Yet now, she was here and had saved his life. In the space of a minute or two he had gone from fully expecting to die, to being reunited with the person he could honestly say he loved more than anything else in the world. (To say it was a mild shock to his system would be an understatement along the lines of saying that a few drops of blood had been spilled around the pool.) Owen knew that he was being given a second chance with Abby. It was a gift he simply could not pass up without regretting it and cursing himself every second for the rest of his life. Owen was no fool. He left with Abby without a second thought.

Of course, that accounted for his inability to go to school. So far as the authorities were concerned, he was either one of two things. He was either a kidnap victim of a homicidal madman (more probably a fifth murder victim after three months) or he was the prime suspect. There was no third option, and Owen knew he did not want to find out which theory was the one favoured by the local, state and federal authorities. Hence, his schooling was now being done by correspondence course. Luckily, Montana was a large state and quite spread out. As well, there were still some people who didn't completely like the idea of sending their children off to learn with strangers in a public system. So, correspondence courses and home schooling were not an unheard of thing. Thus, Owen's education was continuing…under a fake name, of course.

Owen caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he left the room. He had to take note of his developing upper body. He felt that if he'd encountered any of those bullies now, things would be different. If he'd been so badly outnumbered again, they likely still would have prevailed, although Owen was certain that he would have been able to make it into a real fight. He was now sure that he would be able to get in enough hard shots that they would know it and have some pain given back to them. And, if there was only one of them, Owen felt he could now win. His stomach grumbled. Time for some dinner he thought.

Towards eight o'clock, Owen was finishing his meal when his grandfather Oscar came into the kitchen. He was a strong looking man of average height in his early sixties. He had a head full of hair that was not yet grey, a pleasant face and icy blue eyes. His hands and fingers were amazingly strong after a lifetime of working this ranch. He smiled at his grandson and patted his shoulder as he walked to get a drink of juice from the fridge.

"Hi Grandpa."

"Evening, Owen. Did all your lessons for the day?"

"Yup. All set to be sent in. Just need some stamps for the envelopes."

"Leave them on the table. I'm going into town tomorrow morning. I'll mail them then."

"Thanks. What do you want us to do tonight?", Owen asked as he took a drink of his skim milk.

His grandfather scratched his bristly chin as he thought about it.

"Actually, I don't think there is anything big right now. You two did a good job on scraping the old paint off the tool shed last night."

"Thanks"

"I'll have some new paint for it here next week. Think it can be done then?"

"I'll ask Abby. I don't think we have anything else to do.", Owen joked.

"What I like to see. Industriousness amongst the young.", Oscar Alfredson said with a smile. "Incidentally, I'll see if there are some new crossword puzzle magazines at the drugstore tomorrow. I'll, uh, be going past the butcher's as well. I'll get another ten-gallon drum from them."

"Thank you, Grandpa. I, uh, want to say that I really appreciate that. And, you know that Abby appreciates it too."

"Well, I appreciate the fact that if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have a grandson anymore.", Oscar said as he reached over and tussled Owen's hair.

"You should tell her that more often. She can't believe how good you've been about all this since we just showed up in March."

"I know…But not tonight. I'm going over to the Lawton's now. Joe and I are going to watch the ballgame.", he stood up and patted his grandson on his shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning, I guess. Tell Abby I'll see her tomorrow night", he said this as a strange look came over his face.

"What's wrong, Grandpa?"

"I just wish…I wish I could tell Joe that you're here. He and Sally were there for me those eight miserable years I didn't see a sight of you. They had me at their place for Christmas. They came over on my birthday. They were good to me. And, well, sue me for wanting me to tell my best friend that my grandson is living with me."

"And that I have my vampire girlfriend living in the root cellar?", Owen asked sadly. They'd covered this before. He truly sympathized with his grandfather's desire (he himself wanted to shout from every rooftop west of the Mississippi River that he was in love with Abby), but that didn't change the facts. Nobody could know Owen was there. And nobody could even get a hint about Abby. Owen feared the policeman in Los Alamos had been searching for Abby when he was sniffing around her apartment. People had seen her and Owen together at the complex. All it would take was a hint to the wrong person about that missing boy from New Mexico possibly being seen on the Alfredson ranch (and a cursory check would reveal the familial connection) and it would be game over. Add to that, the potential for disaster if someone connected him to Abby and a girl of that description was seen there too. That would be it. Their chances for a new life together would be over. They'd be forced to flee. Abby would lose the chance at the secure home she'd come to love these past three months and have to resume her nomadic lifestyle. Owen would go with her no matter what…But he'd hate to leave here as well. The stability was good for both of them. Abby looked as happy as he'd ever seen her. The blood brought back from the butcher's shop on a twice-weekly basis was far from enjoyable for her….But it did the job in sating her hunger, to their mutual delight. She was in the fourth month of not having attacked any human being. Each passing day brought a brighter smile to her face and her laugh became gayer. Abby said that the good feeling from that outweighed the distaste for the stored animal blood. As well, on occasion, she also would make visits to some of the surrounding towns or cities, more specifically, the local hospitals and their blood banks. The few bags of stored blood that were taken were seldom missed -Abby always took care to take units that were relatively close to their expiry date for medical use, as well as ensuring that there were enough units remaining to cover any emergencies. (Abby was very proud and happy that she was in the fourth month of not having attacked or harmed anyone. She certainly didn't want to inadverntently cause someone harm by taking units or blood types that were limited in quantity.)

"I know, my boy. I'm just an old man wishing out loud. I tell you the God's honest truth: I would rather have the two of you here in secret than not having you here at all. I've gotten used to having a grandson again. And as for Abby…She saved you, and you're here now. I can never repay that. As for what she is…She's a good person. You and I both see that. What's more, I've gotten used to having her here too. I know I'd miss her just as much as you if you both had to leave."

"Thank you, grandpa.", Owen said quietly. "It means so much to her."

"Everyone in this world, my boy needs certain things. It doesn't matter what they are, they need things. They need love, they need acceptance and they need a real place to call home. You just keep reminding her about that. I wish I'd remembered that fact in time myself when your Uncle Lyle…Nevermind!", he shook his head to clear the memory. "I'm off to Joe's. You two have fun tonight."

"We will. Enjoy the game.!"

"I always do.", his grandfather said happily as he strolled out the door. A few minutes later, the sound of his pick-up truck coming to life was heard, followed by the sound of it heading down the drive to the main road.

Owen couldn't believe his grandfather. It was one thing to welcome his long unseen grandson into his home and life…and keep that fact a secret. It was entirely another to accept that he had a travelling companion…who happened to be a 220 year old vampire. Yet, somehow, he had. Maybe the happiness of Owen's presence outweighed the sheer shock of the revelation of what Abby was. Maybe his grandfather was like him and could see the same person he saw when he looked at Abby –a sweet and loving girl who had been suppressed by a monster within her from the time a decade before the American Revolution. Owen had managed to bring that girl out. His grandfather saw nothing but that girl and stunned Abby by suggesting she make her bedroom in the root cellar. After four months now, he simply considered Abby a part of his family as well.

Speaking of Abby, he thought. He looked at his watch and glanced out the window at the western sky. The sun was now down enough to begin his happiest time of the day.

First, he descended the basement steps. Downstairs, beside the washing machine, was an old fridge. His grandfather has used it primarily for keeping beer cold and storing extra meat or fish when the hunting or fishing had been good. Now, it served a slightly different purpose. Owen opened it up. Inside were at least two dozen old beer bottles. Each had been carefully washed, sterilized and recapped. Each was now full of blood brought back from the local butcher at least once a week. Owen selected two bottles, shut the door and returned upstairs.

A few minutes later, Owen –carrying what he needed, walked around the stone ranch house to the entrance to the root cellar. He paused at the top of the steps and looked at the western sky. The sun was setting behind the mountains, casting the ranch in heavenly pink glow. It illuminated the house, the barn and garage, the toolshed that he and Abby would paint in the coming week. It cast its ethereal light on the paths leading into the pine woods that surrounded the place. Off in the distance, he could see the herds of cattle and sheep the ranch raised, all grazing in their fields. Sunset in the Rocky Mountains could take your breath away. It did for Owen. Yet, truth be told, it was not a sight he wanted to see too much more of. It was not that he was tired of the beauty. He simply wanted to no longer be able to walk around outside when there was sun in the sky. It was a simple choice. He loved Abby. He loved her more than anything. He knew that she was his destiny and there was no other. The dye was cast. He wanted her to change him into a vampire like herself. They both knew that it was the only way for their love to truly survive. Otherwise, time would inevitably force them apart. Owen couldn't stand the thought of that. He sighed to himself. He suspected she wanted the same thing…but was afraid to admit it. At any rate, he felt he could convince her sooner or later.

He unlocked the heavy main door and stepped in. Ahead and to his left was a second door that he went through. Beyond that, was a third one. All were offset enough so that no light from behind could get through if –on the off chance- one door was opened before the other was closed.

Passing the third door, Owen stopped and flicked on a light. The low wattage bulb illuminated the cozy room. It held an old dresser, upon which a completed Rubik's Cube sat. (t was his first ever gift to her, and it was the first thing she had placed on the dresser when they set it up in her new room.) Against one wall was a bookshelf that contained the rest of Abby's numerous puzzles and books. (During her very long nomadic existence, doing her puzzles and reading had been her two main enjoyments). The air in the room was far fresher than he would have thought. A hidden vent opened to the outside. It allowed fresh air to enter, but no light. It was uncertain if Abby needed it, or not. But, she didn't seem to mind. His eyes fell on the bed. It was an old double-bed frame and mattress brought down the attic. It had a heavy, old fashioned brassframed headboard that seemed to dwarf the small figure that now slept in the bed. A pair of rickety, but serviceable bedside tables, with -ironically- reading lamps (that Grandpa Oscar had said he had planned to get rid of anyway, so Abby may as well have used them in her new room) completed the furnishings. Abby's large and solid steamer trunk was kept upstairs in Owen's room. They decided to keep it their in case of some sort of emergency. (Namely if Abby were to fall asleep in Owen's room at night and couldn't make it back downstairs safely, she would have a secure -if cramped- sleeping place where no light could enter during the daytime.)

He set down the bucket which contained the two bottles of blood from the fridge. They were in hot water, which was causing the contents to warm to a temperature that would be far more palatable for Abby when she got up.

Owen silently walked over to the old double bed and gently sat down. For the first time he let himself look at the sleeping figure. This was a near-daily ritual for him now. Yet, everyday he felt like a character from _Sleeping Beauty_. Not that that's a bad thing, Owen thought wryly.

Abby was lying on her side, facing him. The shirt she'd put on in Owen's room was draped across the foot of the bed. She was nude, which was no surprise to Owen since she'd been that way she had put the shirt on in his room that morning. The shirt was the only article of clothing anywhere, and the bedsheet was only to her waist. There were no shoes anywhere, which didn't surprise him either. Since he'd met her the only time, she'd *ever* worn shoes by her own choice was on their first date when they went to the arcade in Los Alamos. (The only other time had been on their way to Montana from New Mexico, back in March. But then, she'd worn them at his suggestion so nobody might take notice at the unusual sight of a young girl walking through train stations in her barefeet in wintertime.)

He looked at her beautiful face. She was absolutely still. It freaked him out a little bit when he watched her sleep. She didn't make the usual noises of movements when she slept. Of course, she shouldn't do that, he thought. She's a vampire. Techincally, they're supposed to be dead and that's what they should look like when they go do sleep during the day. It was still hard for him to reconcile the image of her apparently lifeless body lying here now and the happy and joyous girl she was (or had at least was becoming more and more since their arrival here towards the end of March). He wondered if she dreamed. He should ask her about that. She was always quite matter-of-fact about the details of her condition. It was a sign of how much she trusted him.

Well, he thought, it should be any minute now….

As if on cue, Abby's blue eyes shot open. She took in the sight of her beloved Owen, sitting beside her, propped agains the pillows against the wall, looking at his watch. He saw her awake now and smiled. Abby smiled back and pushed herself up in the bed.

She leaned forward and kissed Owen deeply on the lips. She truly loved to wake up with him right there. It reminded her that she wasn't alone now. She had more than a Caretaker. She had someone who truly loved her and simply couldn't believe she could be that fortunate. She took his hand in both of hers and placed them on her cheek. Owen smiled as he recognized her non-verbal gesture of love and affection.

"Good morning.", she said with a soft smile on her face.

"Morning.", he replied as gestured to the two bottles. "I brought you breakfast in bed.", he said with his own broad smile.


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's Part 2 of the story. I hope everyone likes it. I may just have part 3 up later tonight as well. Enjoy!_

Why Do You Like Me? Part 2

Abby sat nude and cross-legged on her bed as took the beer bottle in her hand and felt for the temperature. It wasn't ideal but was warm enough for her. Like with any food for any creature, the temperature didn't really affect whether it satisfied her needs, but did affect her enjoyment of it.

She saw Owen watching her and, with a grin, she put the bottle's neck to her mouth and bit slightly down on the cap. Then, a wrench of her wrist and the cap popped off as neatly as any tool could do.

Owen's eyes bulged out as he saw this. He wordlessly held up the bottle opener that had been on the bedside table.

"Wow. How come you never use the opener?", he chuckled as he shook his head in awe.

"I saw it on TV, and besides, the look on your face is always so priceless.", Abby laughed as she set the cap on the other bedside table. She sniffed the contents, put the bottle to her lips and took a large drink.

Owen watched Abby have her breakfast. Watching her feed was the one aspect to their relationship that he still had to completely wrap his head around. He guessed that stemmed from the memory of what happened in the secret basement room in Los Alamos when the truth about her was revealed after he cut open his own finger in an attempt to do a blood bond. (Looking back, he realized with hindsight, that was a really, REALLY bad idea. It was only the strength of Abby's feelings for him that allowed her to retain enough control over her instincts that allowed her to flee before attacking him.) Yet, he refused to look away. This was what Abby was, and it was how she now fed. He loved her irregardless of what she was and to look away would make it seem like he was somehow not completely comfortable with her. And making Abby feel that way was something he would never do.

Abby lowered the now half-empty bottle and looked at it. A wry grin spread over her slightly bloodied lips.

"What is it?"

"I'm just think about those beer commercials on TV. I wonder if the beer companies could ever dream their beer bottles would be re-used for this?"

"I don't think so.", Owen laughed at the thought.

"It gives a whole new meaning to 'It's Miller time!', doesn't it?", Abby giggled as she drained the contents of the first bottle and reached for the second, that Owen had helpfully opened for her with the bottle opener. "Thank you. They really should try to make these bottles with twist off caps, shouldn't they?", Abby said as she took an initial drink from the second bottle.

"They should. I mean, it's 1983. We can rent movies to watch at home and record things off the television. Is twist off beer caps THAT much of a challenge?", Owen asked with a sardonic smile.

"I'll bet The A-Team could do it.", Abby laughed as she recalled the show the two of them had started watching in summer reruns since their arrival three months prior.

"The A-Team can do anything…except get BA on a plane willingly.", Owen laughed back.

"Oh, I think *I* could get him on a plane.", Abby said with a wink of one of her blue eyes as she took another drink from the second bottle.

"Yup. My girlfriend is tougher than BA Baracus.", Owen smiled. He saw Abby finish off the contents of the second bottle with a slight grimace. "Abby…Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine.", she said with a reassuring smile. "It's just that the taste is still something I'm getting used to."

"It's bad?"

"Um, yes and no…Well, it's more just bland and tasteless than anything else."

"I'm sorry."

"Why? You have nothing to be sorry for.", Abby said as she put her hand on his. "The taste isn't good, but I really don't care too much about that. I drink it and I'm not hungry afterwards. That's all that really matters to me. It's doing what it needs to and that's all I really care about. I don't smell funny, do I?"

"What?"

"Well, remember how when I don't feed for a long time, I start to smell funny? I don't think I smell funny now, do I?", Abby asked with a smile as she knew she didn't.

Owen gave her his own smile and leaned into her and smelled around the side of her face and her hair. All he could detect –as he figured he would- was the scent of the Head & Shoulders shampoo she had used in the shower yesterday. He nibbled her ear playfully, eliciting a giggle and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he pulled away.

"Nope. Nothing to smell but shampoo and soap"

"Good. I'd hate for you to have to tell me I smell kind of funny again.", she said with a smile as she arched her eyebrow.

"Are you ever going to let me hear the end of that?", Owen pretended to groan in frustration as she referenced their second meeting ever back in Los Alamos.

"Let me think about that…Nope.", Abby giggled. "Seriously though, you don't know how glad I am that your idea worked. It's…It's a whole new life for me. It's…I can't even begin to describe it. No more attacking people. No more letting myself starve so I wouldn't have to hurt someone until I simply couldn't go without eating…", Abby turned her tussled head down at the memory.

Owen's heart went out for her as it always did when Abby recalled some of the many bitter memories of her past. He put his arm around her bare shoulder and pulled her close to him, kissing the top of her head.

"It's alright Abby. It's what happened before. You don't have to do that anymore.", he said softly to her.

"I know. And I am *so* grateful for that. It's all because of you, you know. It was your idea. I never would have thought of it. Owen, you know how you said I saved you at the pool in Los Alamos?"

"Yeah."

"Well, your idea for me to eat like this...I think it's saved me. *You've* saved me."

"I have?"

"You have. And don't you *ever* forget it.", Abby said as her smile returned and she kissed Owen on the cheek. She stood up from the bed, not bothered at all by the fact she was still completely naked. She crossed over to her dresser, opened a drawer and removed a t-shirt, underwear and a pair of jeans.

Owen smiled at the fact that a few months earlier, he had been transfixed when he had spied a neighbour at his old apartment complex a brief moment when she'd been topless. Then, he had felt a juvenile thrill at a forbidden sight. Now, he saw Abby completely nude pretty much every day. Perhaps it was his growing sense of maturity or the depth of his feelings for her that he felt simply a sense of warmth that Abby was comfortable enough with him to do this. Yes, he was certainly aroused by her -VERY aroused, if the truth be told. But, it was the emotional bond underneath that was even more important to him.

Abby finished doing up her jeans and pulled the t-shirt down over her head, pausing a moment to pull her long blonde hair out from the neck. She picked up the now empty beer bottle and headed for the door. Owen followed her, clicking off the light as they left.

"So, what do we have for tonight?", Abby asked as they ascended the steps to the outside.

"Nothing."

"Nothing. Grandpa said that there's nothing big to do until he gets the paint for the toolshed. Oh, he wanted to say that we did a good job scraping the paint off of it last night."

"I'm glad. It wasn't that hard a job"

"Well, you not needing a ladder really must have been a help on the top part."

"It wasn't anything big. I'm just happy there's something I can do after all he's done for us.", Abby smiled. Since their arrival in March, she and Owen had spent most of their nights doing chores around the ranch. Grandpa Oscar hadn't really asked them to do it, but both of them wanted to repay him for the way he'd welcomed them and –in Abby's case- accepted her. Abby could see where Owen's kind and accepting heart came from. In the months since their arrival at the end of winter, Abby had grown more fond of Owen's grandfather than she ever thought possible. In fact, when he's suggested she address him -if she liked- as Grandpa Oscar, Abby was overjoyed and found it be a natural fit. Abby could not count her blessings -that she sometimes felt she didn't deserve after what she'd had to do to survive these past two hundred years- enough. She realized that for all intents and purposes, she had a family here now.

It had been a quite symbiotic arrangement so far. Owen and Abby felt that they were able to repay Grandpa Oscar for his kindness and acceptance. And Grandpa Oscar, got some much needed extra help on the ranch –and Abby's superhuman strength was an invaluable asset. Owen, of course, couldn't begin to match her. But, he the physical work was doing much to build up his body and he enjoyed the ranch life. The work was good for him, and he got to spend all the night with Abby. So far as he was concerned, it was perfect.

"So, what do you want to do tonight, then?", Abby asked as they entered the kitchen. Owen stepped over to the sink to rinse out the empty bottles. They would be resterilized in boiling water before refilling them with the next shipment of blood to come from the local butcher. Abby went down the hall to the bathroom and Owen soon heard water running, along with the distinctive sound of teeth being brushed. He walked along to the downstairs bathroom in time to see Abby spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing her mouth out. He grinned at the sight.

"What?", Abby asked as she saw his smile.

"It's just funny at the idea of a vampire having to brush her teeth."

"I guess…But, I like the feeling afterwards. I don't like my mouth feeling dirty or having a bad taste."

"I guess."

"Let me put it this way…Isn't it nicer when we kiss, *after* I brush my teeth.", Abby grinned.

"Let me see.", Owen said. He crossed the distance between them and kissed her gently on the lips. "Oh yeah, much better.", he deadpanned.

"Glad you like it."

"Shame we can't do toothpaste commercials."

Abby nearly choked on laughter at that thought. "Oh yeah, I can see it now. Forget dentists; four out of five vampires recommend Colgate."

"Hey, it would be better than that idiot whose always talking about natural gas to his neighbour Vern."

"I don't doubt that."

"So, what do you want to do tonight?", Owen asked as he rocked Abby gently in his arms.

"I'm not sure. Want to go for a walk in the woods while we think of something?", Abby asked.

"Sounds nice."

They went out the kitchen door and walked, holding hands, towards one of the paths that led into the pine forests that bordered the ranch. They knew the path well, even in the darkness. Owen had walked it in daylight as well as in the dark and darkness, of course, was Abby's natural element.

Soon, the sound of flowing water reached their ears and they emerged into a clearing by the river that ran through the property. The river, and a deep estuary pond that was a few hundred yards away, was one of their favourite spots. For Owen, in the daytime, he loved to watch the blue water flowing over the rocks and the swirling eddies. At nighttime (and Owen was briefly sad that Abby could never see the beauty of the place in the daylight) the moon and stars sparkled on the water like an infinite number of diamonds. Up the river, the water was much deeper. It was there, and in the pond that they went swimming together. Here, though, the shallower water was more peaceful to sit beside and simply enjoy the other's company.

Abby rolled up her jeans, sat down on the bank and placed her bare feet in the water. Owen sat down beside her and she leaned back against him, looking up at the night sky.

"It's so beautiful here, Owen.", she said in quiet wonderment.

"Yeah, I think so too. You've never been anywhere like here before?"

"No. I mean, I've been to places that are really nice. But I was never able to enjoy them. It was always the same old thing. I had to feed. Sooner or later, things would go bad, like they did in Los Alamos and I had to go somewhere else again. I never let myself enjoy any of the sights, since I knew that pretty soon I'd be leaving it again."

"That sounds so horrible for you."

"It was. That's why somedays I can't believe that I'm here, with you. A beautiful place I don't have to leave," she said as she smiled at Owen, "and someone I really love to share it with."

"I know what you mean. It was the opposite for me. Before you moved into the complex, my life –after spending the school day getting the crap beaten out of me- was spent in the courtyard eating Now and Later candies all alone. You know the jungle gym, where we met, I used to sit out there all alone, anytime of the year, just sitting and sucking down candies. Spring, summer, fall and winter...There I was; me, the jungle gym and pocketful of Now and Later's.", he sighed at the not-so-fond memories. "I used to imagine what it would be like to have someone to sit with and share the candy with.", he smiled at her with utter warmth and delight. "And then you moved in."

Abby returned the smile. She knew that Owen's life prior to her involvement hadn't been the violent and nomadic existence she had led. However, it had clearly been a terribly unhappy one. "I'm sorry I couldn't handle the candy though", she said gently as she recalled the violent regurgitation that had followed her attempt and eating a Now and Later.

"Why did you take it, if you knew it was going to make you sick?"

"Your face. You were trying so hard to be nice to me and you seemed to downtrodden when I said no the first time. I thought that maybe I could do it. It it was one of those candies that dissolves in your mouth easily, I might have been able to do it. I couldn't though."

"Awww. I'm sorry I made you feel so guilty you tried one. I didn't know it would make you sick like that."

"How could you? I remember that it was the first time you hugged me though. So, I guess it was worth it."

"I just remember that you finally hugged me back…and then you asked me if I liked you."

"Yeah, and you said you did…a lot"

"How couldn't I?"

"Why though?"

"What?"

"It's something I really wanted to ask you back then. I wanted to ask you why do you like me? I mean, I was just this strange girl who wasn't terribly friendly to you and had just puked up the candy you gave her. I don't see why you would have liked me."

"I just did. It was like…You know how you have your instincts that just let you know things, like when the sun is about to rise and everything?"

"Yeah."

"It was like that. There was just something inside of me that said you were really special. Everytime we talked in the courtyard, it let me forget all the stuff about my parents splitting up. It let me forget that I was more than likely to get beaten to death at school sooner or later. It let me forget everything bad and made me feel good whenever I was close to you. It was…It was like I just *knew* that you were something really good in my life. How could I not like you?"

"Awww, Owen.", Abby said as she felt goosebumps rise.

"What about me?"

"Hmmm?"

"I wondered the same thing back then. You were hanging out with me. *Nobody* ever hung out with me. I thought you had to like me, at least a little, to do that. So, I wondered why do you like me?", he asked her gently.

"Owen, do you remember when I told you, that night we left Los Alamos, that you were the most special person I've ever met, going back more than two centuries?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I meant exactly what I said then. There's something so special about you that I can't even try to describe."

"I still don't think I'm all that special."

"You don't? Owen, what would most people do when they looked at me? What would most people think when they learned what I am? I can tell you. They'd see a monster. They'd see some demon out of Hell. They'd see some filthy leach they'd want to ram a wooden stake into and then leave out in the sun. I can assure you of that, because that's how most people who've learned what I am have reacted. Others, well, they seem to be enthralled with me. Either the need for blood fascinated them and made them want to follow me, or…," she swallowed in distaste at the memories "the fact that I'll always have the body of a twelve year old no matter what was *greatly* appealing for them."

"Abby…"

"No, it's alright now. Like you said, that's the past. You and I have the future now. But, what I'm getting at is that you saw something nobody else did. You saw a person when you saw me. Even when I was acting weird and rude when we first met, you let me have your Rubik's Cube. It was so….kind. Nobody had been really kind to me in the longest time. And then, when you said I could have it since I didn't get any birthday presents…I was so blown away by you doing that, I almost started crying. I think that's what started me on the path to where we are now. Other people would see some weird little freak and run away. You saw someone that you thought needed kindness. You saw the part of me that I thought was dead for so long. You saw it and slowly brought it out. Why would I like you? Owen…You let me know a part of me I thought was dead, was still alive. You could say that you actually brought me back to life."

"You just seemed so sad. I wanted to cheer you up."

"And you succeeded. And when you found out what I am. How I said other people reacted? They wanted to kill me or just integrate their own needs with theirs? You…You still saw the girl inside of me. When I was bleeding and you screamed I could come in…I didn't think I could remember the last time I'd felt that happy. You knew what I am…But you would still let me in."

"I couldn't do anything else. You were dying right in front of me, and you were still…Abby"

"That's what I mean. Others all just saw some unholy vampire. You saw *me* and still wanted me. That's what I mean by you're special. You saw something in me nobody else could. You saw something that I thought was dead myself. If it wasn't for you, I'd be God only knows where, in the same cycle I'd been in since the 1760's. I'd be settling somewhere, feeding a while, then having to move on. I'd be killing people. I'd be miserable. I'd feel like I had no soul, no future. But because of you…I'm here. I have a way to feed without having to kill people. Owen, when I told you earlier that you saved me, that's what I meant. I think you saved my soul."

Owen pulled her into a close hug, as he was overwhelmed at the emotional revelation. "I really did that?"

"Of course.", she said, her voice muffled as her face was pressed against him. "I mean, you're my soulmate. How can I have a soulmate if I don't have a soul of my own."

"It was always there."

"But I didn't know it. It was in that part of me that I thought was dead, but you found. I saw you do that, and I realized that I still had it in me. Owen...I love you so much I can't even begin to put it into words.", Abby said softly as she felt tears form in her eyes.

Owen pulled back and looked into her wet eyes. He smiled, then leaned in a pulled her into a long, passionate kiss. Abby responded and reached her hand up behind his head and pulled her into him. For several long and tender moments, the only sound to be heard was the gurgling stream.


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's Chapter 3. It's really more of an exposition on the state of their relationship at this point. The backstory Abby gives Owen is part of what Matthew Reeves and Chloe Grace Moretz said they came up with for her when they shot the film. The vampiric lore I have her describe is mostly my own theories combined with traditional film mythos. Abby's description of Norman Maclean's work is accurate. Owen and Abby's wager at the end is the set-up for the pay-off that will come in the Epilogue. Reviews are a wonderful thing, btw. :-D_

I Was Wondering, Why Do You Like Me? Part 3

Finally they broke apart after their kiss. Abby sighed contentedly. This was truly a wonderful place. She often felt like the traveler upon an endless road who had reached a destination. It taken her over two hundred years, but the wait was well worth it.

"The Rocky Mountains", she mused. "They're about the only place I never visited much over the years."

"No?"

"Nope. When I was born, people didn't even know about them. At least nobody in Virginia did. For us, the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains were about as big a mountain range as anyone could imagine."

"That's where you're from? Virginia?"

"Yes.", she said. It was funny that they'd never talked about something so simple before. Owen had asked her about some of her past travels, but the two big questions that he had never asked –and she suspected it was because he didn't want to cause her pain by bringing up bad memories- was about her human life and, above all, how she was made into a vampire. Of course, she'd shown him the vision of the attack by Jebediah all those years ago. But, he had no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding it.

To be truthful, she wasn't quite ready to face that most horrid of memories just yet. However, she did feel ready to answer some of the questions he now posed.

"I was born not too far from what's now Williamsburg, Virginia. I was the youngest of five children."

"Wow. I always wondered what it would be like to have brothers and sisters."

"Well, I can tell you, at the time I rather wished I was an only child. I was what you might call, a disappointment, to my family."

"What? How could you possibly have been a disappointment? Abby, you're the most amazing person.."

"Aw. Thank you.", she said as she gave him a quick kiss. "But you can't forget that people saw things differently back then. People acted differently, and girls were expected to act *far* differently than today."

"I know things have changed a lot."

"You can't imagine how much. You see, Owen, my mother was the one who took charge of seeing that my sisters –I had two sisters- were raised to be proper ladies befitting Virginia society. We were supposed to know proper etiquette, to make walk properly, to dance, all the sorts of things you see in movies like _Gone With the Wind_, only more so. My sisters took to that like fish to water. As for me…"

"It didn't?"

"Nope.", Abby laughed. "I was, as the saying goes, a rebellious student."

"You?", Owen chuckled.

"The rebel. That was what I was like. I didn't want to learn to walk properly in fancy dresses across the parlour. Every chance I got, I'd be out the door, my shoes and stockings would be abandoned on the lawn somewhere and I'd be tramping all over the place exploring. My mother would have fits. She was trying to raise a proper young lady, but I'd be off somewhere in the woods, in my bare feet, hem of my dress getting dirty, if not torn."

"Is that why you're always in your bare feet?", asked Owen with a smile.

"Maybe, that was the root of it.", Abby smiled back. I got in the habit then, and it just carried over. It helps, of course that when I'm barefoot it's easier for me to climb up places like trees or walls. And, the cold doesn't bother me at all, so …Um, does it bother you?"

"No. Not at all. Nothing you could do really upsets me. I always just wondered if it was something you did before…Or if it was something that came after."

"With me, it came before. I don't know about any others. For all I know, they might be barefoot in the snow as well. Or, they might never be without the heaviest boots available. I've met so few others of my kind that I can't tell for certain."

"You've met other vampires?"

"Oh yes. It's rare, but it happens. I've generally only met one at a time. Vampires tend be more solitary. I have encountered a male and a female vampire who were mates; this was around 1910, I think. Mates like that seem to be, so far as I know, the exception to the solitary rule. We sort of tend to instinctively avoid one another. We can be territorial. Many vampires dislike others coming into their hunting grounds."

"Really?"

"Yes. So far as I know. I honestly haven't met too many others. And when you do, we don't stop to talk and exchange information. There's a wariness and a desire to move on and away as soon as possible before things get out of hand –which they easily can. It's like those nature shows. We sort of consider ourselves to be the apex predator for any given food chain. Another apex predator close to us can spell trouble."

"How did you learn what you *do* know?"

"Some I've picked up from my brief encounters with others. Some came from experience. Some came to me through instinct –like knowing the sun would hurt me."

"I wish I'd known about why you need an invitation to enter a home. I never would have taunted you like I did."

"I know that, Owen. It's alright."

"It's not. I might have killed you. I still have nightmares about that; about what would have happened if I hadn't called out an invitation. God, I could have *lost* you forever and it would have been my own stupid fault.", Owen clenched his fists in self-recrimination over his actions from four months ago.

"Owen, please don't blame yourself. I know you didn't know what would happen. I trusted you though. It was scary for me too. But, when you invited me…My heart just soared. That was when I realized you accepted me for what I am. It was the scariest and best moment I could remember in a long time."

"It was just scary for me. I saw you hurting. I saw you *dying* in front of me. I guess that was the instant it dawned on me that what you were didn't matter to me. It was *who* you are. You're the person I love. And I couldn't let anything happen to you.", Owen said as he gently caressed her cheek with his hand.

"Aw, Owen.", Abby giggled. "I *do* have a question for you though."

"Go ahead."

"Now, I realize you didn't know I would start bleeding like that. But, just out of sheer curiosity, what did you *think* was going to happen if I came in without an invitation.?"

"I don't know; maybe something less harmful, and more dramatic. Something...amazing, I guess; that didn't hurt you, of course."

"Like what?"

"Like an invisible barrier popping up. Or, maybe there would have been a flash of blue lightning, or something."

"Blue lightning?"

"Yeah."

"Blue lightning? You didn't think blue lightning would hurt?", Abby asked with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"Um, I thought it might strike close by, as a warning shot, or something.", he admitted with sheepish embarassment. "I would never do anything that would have *hurt* you."

"I know Owen. I'm just laughing to myself at the idea of you expecting a big flash of blue lighting inside of your apartment.", Abby said with a smile. "I'm afraid a lot of stuff with vampires is more grisly and less dramatic than what's shown in the movies."

"All this is really fascinating, you know."

"You're actually finding this interesting?"

"Of course."

"Well, getting back to what I was telling you about my past. I also didn't want to learn too much about etiquette or manners. I always wanted to be tutored along with my brothers. They were learning mathematics, history, etc. They were being groomed to run the plantation one day, or to go into politics or something."

"And they didn't let you."

"That's an understatement. When I told my mother that's what I wanted, she just scowled at me and said I wasn't being ladylike. My father just laughed and patted my head. He said that girls need not concern themselves with such rough matters. It would cause me to have nervous tension and become ill if I tried to study something so strenuous as math or business."

"He said *that*?", Owen asked. He was clearly amazed at the attitudes so prevalent in Colonial Virginia.

"He did. I don't really hold it against him now. I can tell that he was just a product of his times; my mother as well. But, it still disappointed me so much. I really wanted to study math and show I could be as good as my brothers." Abby dropped her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "I actually went so far as to sneak into my oldest brother's room and snatch the old math textbook he was long done with."

"Did they catch you?"

"He did. My parents never found out, thankfully. My brother –George, his name was- was probably my closest sibling. I was his baby sister, but he never talked down to me. He let me have his old math books and helped me with them when he could. I found out that I was really, really good at math."

"I can tell."

"You can?"

"Sure. I mean, look at all of your puzzles. So many of them, you have to be good at math to do. I always thought you were a genius at it."

"I'm not a genius. I mean…Do you think I am?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure you're far better at it than most people."

"Too bad I can't go to school to find out."

"Do what I've been doing. You can do correspondence courses. The catalogues I have are full of all types of math stuff. I'll bet you could ace them. Once fall comes, the nights get a lot longer and we'll have less to do around the place. You'd have a lot more time then."

"I would. I think I'll try it. I always wanted to be able to make up for some of the chances I missed. I have tried to read a lot over the years."

"I've seen some of your books"

"They're quite a collection. I have everything from Shakespeare to Norman Maclean."

"Who?"

"Norman Maclean.", Abby laughed. "It's quite fitting considering where we are now. He's a writer who grew up in Missoula, Montana. His wife was from Wolf Creek."

"I remember when we passed through Missoula, on the way here back in March. And Wolf Creek is just another railway stop down the line from here."

"I know. When you told me about the ranch, I was really glad. I love his book _A River Runs Through It_. Whenever I read it, it always made me feel good. I felt then that there were peaceful places in the world, and it gave me hope that maybe I could find one myself one day."

"And here you are."

"Yes. And funnily enough, it's almost exactly like what the book describes.", she raised one of her bare feet gently out of the water and the cool, clear water glistened off her skin and trickled back into the rippling water. "_Eventually, all things merge into one and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs._", Abby quoted.

"Is that from the book? It's so..."

"Yeah. It's great. Do you want to read it?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I'll give it to you when we get back to the house. Soooo, we still haven't decided what to do the rest of the night."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"We could go fishing."

"Nah. It just seems too…peaceful tonight to try and trick a trout into going for a fly.", Owen smiled. He and Abby had been slowly learning the Montana art of fly fishing since the trout season had opened in the spring.

"We could go swimming", Abby said with a definite glint in her eye.

"My bathing suit is back at the house.", Owen smiled back.

"I don't even *have* a bathing suit. And, that hasn't stopped us before, now has it?", Abby purred.

Owen smiled at that. Over the time they'd been together, they'd been growing more and more comfortable with physical intimacy. Well, Abby had never been that inhibited around him. She trusted him and knew he respected her. She told him flat out that she would not parade nude as she did in front of any other human being (or vampire, for that matter) on the planet other than him. Owen, meanwhile, had been learning to lose his own inhibitions.

For the first month that Abby climbed into his bed, leaving her clothes on the floor as she'd done that night in Los Alamos, Owen had been nervous and was anxious about how much he should look in her direction. Even though, they just lay in bed talking, Owen's heart was pounding.

The second month, he'd gotten used to it enough that he realized if Abby had any problem with it, she wouldn't have removed her clothes in the first place. At that realization, Owen took Abby's regular nudity as a simple fact that he was mature about.

The third month, a new breakthrough took place. On a hot night, Owen was clearly sweating and uncomfortable in his pajama pants. Abby simply suggested he remove them. He looked at her and saw that she was making a simple suggestion with no pressure behind it. Owen gulped once, then –with shaking hands- removed his pajama bottoms and left them on the floor with Abby's clothing. He was nervous initially, but soon realized Abby was fine with it and wouldn't have made her suggestion otherwise. They began to talk and laugh together normally again, as their nightly ritual that stretched from when Owen went to bed until Abby had to leave to go to her own bed in the root cellar, evolved. From that point on, Owen didn't even bother with his pajama pants anymore and he now didn't even take notice of the fact any longer that they were both in his bed nude.

The next evolution came with what they did. While most nights in his room were spent quietly talking or reading, their physical contact was more or less innocent. They would kiss upon Abby leaving for the root cellar or one would tickle the other, or some other type of comparatively innocent activity. A week prior though, they'd been reading a comic together, with their heads close together. Owen had turned and found himself staring into Abby's face. Giving in to the intimacy of the moment he leaned in and kissed her, hard. Abby responded with a hard kiss of her own. The rest of the night, until Abby left for the root cellar had been an intense make-out session. Owen still didn't know how he'd been able to control himself then. He had though, but not without difficulty. It did bring home something that they both knew. They were getting closer and closer to a point where the next physical step in their relationship would occur. The thought made Owen both nervous and joyous. He knew that some students back at his old school in Los Alamos were having sex. He didn't pay much attention to the talk that went on. He was all alone then, and to hear others talk of it would just drive him his own state of loneliness, only it would then be combined with unrequited physical needs. But now, he was with someone he deeply loved. They were in a real relationship, and that point was growing closer. (Owen was definitely aware that they'd be nowhere near this if Abby wasn't a vampire. The fact that she was simply meant that many of the norms for dating and relationships at his age, went out the window). He wanted to make love with Abby, plain and simple. The very thought of doing that with her made his breath come in short gasps and his palms to have a tingling sensation; of course, he didn't count that as an unpleasant feeling.

Abby realized the same thing. As she found herself in Owen's bed, nude, on a nightly basis she found it harder and harder not to give in to the desire she felt for him. She was glad he'd shed his inhibitions with her, as she loved the level of mutual comfort they had together. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to make love with Owen. No doubt about it, that milestone moment was coming and Abby had an idea about it too. His thirteenth birthday was coming up soon. She was planning to herself that the night of his birthday would be a most memorable one for the both of them.

That level of physical comfort had spread to their swimming as well. They'd been swimming in the river and the pond since the June heat wave. It was the first time the water had been warm enough for Owen. (Abby could have gone swimming without a problem when they arrived back in March, so it wasn't an issue for her). Like tonight, they'd been walking when the heat prompted them to see what the pond –which had for generations been 'the swimming hole'- was like. Instead of going back to the house for Owen to get his suit, they had simply left all their clothes by the water and swam nude. Abby was surprised that Owen's swimming skills were improved since the horrid Los Alamos incident (He told her that he'd been doing some practicing during the day, as it was warm enough then.) as well as the fact he was so willing to go skinny-dipping with her. Now, she wondered if a swim would be a good way to pass the night.

"Hmm. Maybe we could go swimming later."

"Ok. What about now?"

"I have an idea."

"Oh?"

"_Return of the Jedi_ is still playing at the drive-in.", Owen said with a glint in his eye as he knew he'd hit paydirt.

"Really?"

"Yup.", he looked at his watch. "They're doing the add-on movie now. *You* can get us there in about five minutes. That's more than enough time."

"You know what I like, don't you?", Abby said with a smile as they trotted back to the house. Owen grabbed his house key, his transistor radio, a small bag of chips, a can of Coke and an old but thick towel to sit on. He locked the door as they stepped back outside again, Abby took a firm hold of him and launched them into the air. Minutes later, they were sitting on the towel atop the refreshments building. They faced towards the screen where the third film or George Lucas' saga would soon start. Owen turned the dial of his transistor radio to pick up the sounds from the screen. It was an easy habit as this was the fourth time they'd seen the movie here. (The drive-in was how they went to see movies. It was the only way they could be sure nobody would spot Owen's face.) Abby was still bouncing in anticipation though.

"You really love this movie, don't you? It's good, but I thought _The Empire Strikes Back_ was better."

"That was good. But, this one has something special."

"What?"

"Well, everyone sees Darth Vader as an evil monster. But Luke doesn't see that. He believes that there's still a good man inside of him, buried deep down. He doesn't give up and succeeds in bringing Anakin Skywalker out of Darth Vader. I like the idea of the hero finding the good person inside of what everyone else considers a monster.", she said giving Owen a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, I admit I like it too for that reason. It's sure better than when we saw _All the Right Moves _with that Tom Cruise guy last week."

"Hey! He's awesome. He's going to be a major star for decades. I'll bet you five bucks that in twenty-five years he'll have more Oscars than any actor alive."

"Please! I'll take that bet, and double or nothing says that in twenty-five years or less, he'll be considered an insane nutjob that nobody will take seriously anymore."

"Done!", Abby said with a smile as they shook hands on it as the screen flickered with coming attractions.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey everyone. This is the Epilogue. I thought it would be a way to end the fic with a bit of humour. I hope everyone liked this fic. Reviews are much appreciated. _

_Stay tuned for more romantic adventures of Owen and Abby. I'm already plotting the fic were they celebrate their first Christmas together...not to mention Owen's thirteenth birthday. :-D_

I Was Wondering, Why Do You Like Me? Epilogue

May 23, 2005

Owen and Abby sat side by side on the couch. The closing theme of _The Oprah Winfrey Show_ played on a rerun from earlier that day. Owen aimed the remote control and switched to CNN. Larry King was discussing the couch jumping incident by Tom Cruise they had just witnessed. He switched to _Entertainment Tonight_, where it was *THE* main subject of discussion.

Owen's stoic face then broke into a wide grin. His smile grew wider, exposing the vampire fangs he'd had since 1984. Without turning his head, he reached out his arm and extended his hand in front of his beloved companion and soulmate of more than twenty-two years. His smile grew more confidant as he snapped his fingers and rubbed them together.

Abby shot him a look that was so dirty he would have laughed at how extreme it was. The last time he'd seen her give him that look was in 1999. He'd been sent to the local videostore to rent _Hope Floats_ and _Forces of Nature_. They were both out. So, he'd returned with _Happy Gilmore _and _The Waterboy_. He'd pleaded quite logically that both of the films she'd wanted to see were out, so he didn't want to return empty handed. (He conveniently forgot to mention that he'd waited around for more than an hour, after reserving the two Adam Sandler films, for the films Abby had wanted to see get rented by someone else).

It was an old argument. They'd had twenty-two years, and counting, of happiness. About the only thing they never agreed on was their taste in movies (aside from anything that was created by George Lucas). Adam Sandler was a perfect example. Owen thought he was a comedic genius. Abby regarded him as an insane moron who was missing a chromosome. Another movie issue they couldn't see eye-to-eye on was The Three Stooges. Abby simply couldn't see the humour in three grown men who were constantly physically abusing each other -which was, of course, why Owen thought they were so funny.

But now, a bet made in the summer of 1983 was about to be paid. Abby reached into her pocket, pulled out a ten dollar bill and handed it to her vampiric mate.

"There! I don't know *how* you knew about this, but I've got to hand it to you, you won fair and square!", she sighed in disgust.

"Thank you! Thank you very much!", Owen chuckled as he pocketed the bill. He reached over and pulled Abby –who was trying very hard to maintain the dirty look and keep it from melting into a giggle- into an embrace.

"I still can't believe it. He went insane over…Katie Holmes, of all people. He flipped out over Joey Potter!"

"He was a ticking bomb of nuttiness. I mean, he dumped Nicole Kidman for crying out loud"

"True that. So, what are you going to do with that ten dollars you've won?", she sneered with humorous sarcasm.

"I thought I'd keep it with my own ten dollars. And then, on midnight of June 17th, I'd take a certain vampire girl I know to the midnight screening of _Batman Begins_."

"Ok. I'll admit it. I like that plan.", Abby giggled as she leaned over and kissed him. "And, you know how much I love anything with Christian Bale in."

"Besides, we owe it to Katie Holmes. I have a feeling her own career is not going to go skyrocket after this."

"You're sure about that?"

Owen grinned again. "Want to bet?"


End file.
